James Naish MP: speeches

Speeches

• 2 Mar 2026 · Representation of the People Bill · Hansard source

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  I would like to add to that list of issues that need to be tackled. Does my hon. Friend agree that, given the role that the media play in our politics, the Government have a responsibility to think long and hard about what we do in that space?

• 25 Feb 2026 · Student Loan Repayment Plans · Hansard source

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  I am so proud to have the University of Nottingham campus in my constituency. I believe that higher education in the UK is one of our greatest assets and also one of our greatest exports, and we must remember that, despite all the concerns about the student loan system. The student loan system is not a good system. It is a complete mess, and it risks undermining public trust in these institutions. It will not surprise Members that I have been contacted by numerous graduates about this issue, who have made some fantastic points about not just interest rates but the impact on women, the impact on social mobility and the psychological impact. I want to leave with the Minister the three questions most commonly asked in my inbox. First, how can successive Governments justify changing repayment thresholds and interest structures when individuals took out loans under materially different expectations? That does not happen with commercial loans. Secondly, if the majority of plan 2 borrowers are projected never to clear their balance, what is the policy rationale for maintaining interest rates above inflation or Government borrowing costs? Finally, what assessment has been made of the impact of current student loan terms on home ownership, pensions and having children, and how on earth does that impact align with our goals on economic growth?

• 12 Feb 2026 · Lord Mandelson: Government Response to Humble Address Motion · Hansard source

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  I am pleased that the Prime Minister has recognised that he must do more to strengthen standards in public life, including by enhancing vetting for political appointments and providing a broader review of the lobbying system. Would the Minister care to explain a bit more about how the Government are planning to address the lobbying of MPs and public officials?

• 12 Feb 2026 · Pharmacy First: Withholding Payments · Hansard source

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  I am very grateful for the fact that this urgent question was granted, because pharmacies have been in touch with me about their concerns. I must put another thing on the Minister’s to-do list: independent prescribing. Evans Pharmacy in my constituency has been part of the independent prescribing pathfinder programme, and only 5% of patients seen by the prescribers subsequently require GP prescribing. However, no clear funding or arrangement will be in place after March this year. Will he provide Evans Pharmacy and similar prescribers with clarity about what will happen next?

• 12 Feb 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I wrote to the Department for Transport in December 2024, warning that the closure of Kirk Hill bridge by Network Rail for 10 months would have a devastating impact on nearby businesses. Fifteen months later, Dolly’s, a local café, has closed for good. The owner Gemma told me that she needed £10,000 of support to get by over that 10-month period. That would have been 0.15% of the total cost of the project. We have lost a popular local business, and three people have lost their job. Does the Leader of the House agree that more can and should be done to recognise the unique impact of road closures on rural businesses, and will he advocate on my behalf to the Department on this issue?

• 11 Feb 2026 · Hughes Report: Second Anniversary · Hansard source

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  Thank you for your chairship, Dr Allin-Khan. I congratulate the hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham (Sarah Green) on securing this debate. I will put one family at the heart of my response: my constituent Catherine and her son Matthew, whom I mentioned in Prime Minister’s questions last February, 12 months ago. When she was pregnant, Catherine did what any parent would do: she trusted the medical advice that she was given. She was prescribed sodium valproate, a medicine used to treat epilepsy. Matthew is now 24 years old, and as a result of that medical advice he has lifelong needs and a learning disability. He has done incredibly well, securing a part-time job and maintaining a level of independence while walking around the village where he lives. Matthew was also incredibly proud to take part in the 2024 general election, and he voted in the hope that there would finally be redress for those affected by the valproate scandal. Matthew has since written to the Prime Minister; I put on the record my frustration at seeing how his correspondence was passed from pillar to post. It was only after several chases by me that Matthew received a response—a response entirely inappropriate for somebody with a learning disability. Catherine and her family provide significant support to Matthew, and his life is all the richer for it. But that is not the case for all children impacted by sodium valproate, and there will come a point in time when Catherine will not be able to provide that support any longer. Catherine, and other families in the Public Gallery today, fear that day, and they want the state to ensure that specialist assessments, therapies, adaptations, lost earnings and round-the-clock care are provisioned for now, so that a secure future for their children is guaranteed. That is why the Patient Safety Commissioner’s report is so important. It sets out a clear and workable route, and it is the responsibility of this Government to acknowledge that. Every month of delay is another month when parents are left to patch together support, fight for diagnoses, battle through fragmented services and carry costs that should never have landed on their shoulders. Today I ask the Minister directly, as I asked the Prime Minister 12 months ago: will the Government commit to a clear timetable for implementing the Hughes recommendations? For Catherine and Matthew, the argument that the situation is complex simply does not land. Their lives are already complex—more complex than most of us can even imagine. What they are asking the Government to do is simple: accept responsibility for the scandal and act now while the redress can still be meaningful. The question today is whether this Government—the Government who both Catherine and Matthew were desperate to see when I first met them, as a candidate—will match that urgency with action. I hope that the Minister will take seriously all the representations made today.

• 10 Feb 2026 · Sherwood Forest: Tourism · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for securing this debate. As she knows, the Mayor of the East Midlands, Claire Ward, has put the visitor economy at the heart of her vision for the east midlands region. My hon. Friend may be aware that the Centre of it All marketing campaign was launched last week. Does she agree that Sherwood Forest and the Trent sports quarter, which would be based in my constituency of Rushcliffe, have the opportunity to grow our visitor economy to the £1 billion target that Claire Ward has set?

• 10 Feb 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  As the Secretary of State knows, there is a fantastic site on the edge of the M1 at Ratcliffe-on-Soar—the last of the coal-fired power station sites to be decommissioned—which will make a superb site for clean energy generation. Will he commit to meeting me and Claire Ward, Mayor of the East Midlands, to discuss it further?

• 4 Feb 2026 · Postal Services: Rural Areas · Hansard source

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  I conducted a survey in my constituency, to which over 700 people responded to raise a whole range of issues around health, finance, legal and other types of communication, but less than 20% of them had contacted Royal Mail itself to say they were having problems. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the Minister needs to put pressure on Royal Mail to be honest, investigate its own problems and demonstrate that to us as Members of Parliament?

• 4 Feb 2026 · Postal Services: Rural Areas · Hansard source

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  A gentleman in my constituency missed a couple of letters about a parking fine, and he has now had a county court judgment against him. He did not have the opportunity to contest the fine in the first place, which he wanted to do, and he now has to deal with the CCJ. This is having real-life consequences, and I am sure the hon. Gentleman agrees that that is not acceptable.

• 2 Feb 2026 · Indefinite Leave to Remain · Hansard source

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  Will my hon. Friend give way?

• 2 Feb 2026 · Indefinite Leave to Remain · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman mentions Ukraine. Obviously, most Ukrainians will not be eligible for ILR as we are discussing it, and this may be an area where we do need rule changes. A lot of young people who have come over from Ukraine with their families will now know nothing other than our education system and our ways of life. Does he agree that it would be good if the Minister looked carefully at the approach we take with Ukrainians?

• 2 Feb 2026 · Indefinite Leave to Remain · Hansard source

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  Will my hon. Friend give way?

• 26 Jan 2026 · Animal Rescue Centres · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is a real champion of these issues, so I thank her for her work. My constituency is home to the Radcliffe animal centre. It is the only RSPCA animal centre in Nottinghamshire, but what most people do not realise is that the centre is still funded individually—independently—not by the national society, and it costs £800,000 a year to run. Does my hon. Friend agree that there is a need to invest in the capacity of the sector and to look at funding of these centres, to ensure that we reach the standards that she is describing?

• 26 Jan 2026 · Animal Rescue Centres · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady touched on the costs generated by animal centres, and earlier I mentioned the £800,000 running costs of the Radcliffe animal centre in my constituency. I put on record my thanks to David Carter of Gamston in my constituency, who has lit up his house every Christmas for a decade to raise money for the local animal centre. However, does the hon. Lady agree that relying on people like David to generate funds for these centres puts their regulation and licensing, and the way they look after animals, at risk?

• 26 Jan 2026 · Key Stage 1 Curriculum · Hansard source

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  I have been to see the OPAL—outdoor play and learning—programme at Brookside primary school in East Leake in my constituency. The teachers there are finding that the outdoor play element means that they are spending more time successfully teaching in the classroom because there are fewer issues and disputes to resolve. Does the hon. Lady agree that teachers and schools are pushing for those things both indoor and outdoor, because together they ultimately result in better learning for children?

• 21 Jan 2026 · Warm Homes Plan · Hansard source

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  I welcome this £15 billion investment, which will tackle energy security issues and make sure that family finances are protected from fossil fuel price spikes. In my constituency, there is a fantastic organisation, co-founded by a lady named Jane, called Women in Retrofit, which focuses on getting more women and girls into the retrofit industry. We simply will not be able to meet our targets without using that part of the workforce. What has the Secretary of State considered, when it comes to getting more women and girls into this work?

• 21 Jan 2026 · Water White Paper · Hansard source

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  My constituents in Rushcliffe, notably in East Leake, have faced sewage spills for far too long, so I am pleased to be working with Severn Trent Water to ensure that new pumping stations and rising mains are installed in East Leake, Wysall and Willoughby-on-the-Wolds over the current price period. How will having a new single water regulator, with real teeth, ensure that that commitment is delivered in the current price period?

• 19 Jan 2026 · Proposed Chinese Embassy · Hansard source

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  Does the Minister personally share any of my concerns that the proposed so-called mega-embassy risks becoming not only an excessively large diplomatic site, but a focal point for the intimidation and surveillance of Hongkongers and members of the Chinese, Uyghur and Tibetan diaspora—over 700,000 people in total—given that we know China’s track record of transnational repression, such as the million-dollar bounties on UK Hongkongers? If not, why not? If so, how is that being prioritised in the decision-making process?

• 19 Jan 2026 · Teacher Retention · Hansard source

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  I am particularly concerned about teacher retention at a school in my constituency, St Peter’s in Ruddington, which was condemned just before Christmas following an emergency evacuation due to structural issues. I put on the record my sincere thanks to staff, parents, children and local organisations for their support. May I please push Ministers for a swift decision about what will happen next? It is very destabilising for parents and teachers to not know what form a rebuild will take, so I will leave this with the Secretary of State.

• 19 Jan 2026 · Sale of Fireworks · Hansard source

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  I shared my hon. Friend’s petition with my constituents, and I thank her for her campaigning on that issue. On the general petitions website for this Parliament, there are 199 petitions with “fireworks” somewhere in the description. That is an incredible number when we consider that there are 601 on the NHS, which is a huge issue, 553 on housing and 367 on immigration. Does she agree that, compared with those other issues, this one is relatively easy to fix, and that the Government should grasp it?

• 19 Jan 2026 · Iran: Protests · Hansard source

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  The world has been appalled by the scenes of bloodshed. Will the Minister outline what discussions the Government are having with our G7 colleagues and European colleagues to make sure we send out a united message of condemnation and a common demand for the rights of the Iranian people to be respected?

• 19 Jan 2026 · Arctic Security · Hansard source

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  I thank the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister for their clarity today on the future of Greenland. Does the Foreign Secretary agree with me that, while recent comments from the United States have generated understandable concern, the correct response is not panic or escalation, but calm diplomacy grounded in the clear, simple principle that Greenland’s future is a matter for the Greenlandic people? Does she also agree that the real strategic challenge in the High North remains Russia, with its militarisation and aggression, which NATO must continue to confront together as partners, not opponents, of the United States?

• 14 Jan 2026 · Northern Powerhouse Rail · Hansard source

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  Over the past five years, per-head transport spend in the east midlands has fallen to just 54% of the UK average—the lowest of any region or nation. Rail funding is even more unequal, at £175 per head in 2023-24, which is barely 40% of the English average. With the Tories scrapping the east midlands leg in October 2023, HS2 will not be coming to my constituency, so while I welcome the ambition and scale of today’s announcement, I ask the Secretary of State to look once more at electrification of the midland main line, which will have an immediate economic impact and can be delivered in this Parliament.

• 14 Jan 2026 · Horse and Rider Road Safety · Hansard source

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  Just last month I presented a petition in this place about a greenway in my constituency between Radcliffe and Cotgrave, which has been closed for two years. That means that people such as Jacqui, who rides a horse, cannot use it. Does the hon. Member agree that we need to encourage the expansion of and investment in this type of infrastructure?